[extropy-chat] Fly Me to the Moon

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Olga Bourlin <fauxever at sprynet.com> wrote:

> Dubbed "Herakles," the system would use an ion beam produced from
> xenon gas 
> to propel the craft to speeds of 200,000 mph, 10 times faster than
> the top 
> speed of the space shuttle. :
> 
>
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002299705_ion04.html
> 

"The first ion thruster was installed on Deep Space 1, which was
launched in 1998 and conducted a flyby of comet Borrelly."

This is wrong. Ion thrusters have been in use since the 1970's on
non-American spacecraft. Deep Space 1 was the first deep space craft
whose primary propulsion was an ion engine.

Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com


		
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